A former Kansas teacher was sentenced to 30 days in prison and one year on probation after she was caught kicking a 5-year-old student. Crystal Smith, 55 and from Kansas City, was a teacher in the Shawnee Mission School District when surveillance footage showed her assaulting the kindergartener in February 2019. Now, not only is Smith out of a job and will never work as a teacher again, but she’s also a convicted criminal, KansasCity.com reports.
- The abuse was unnecessary and cruel. The surveillance footage shows the student lying in a bookshelf after other students leave. After pulling the little girl out of the shelf, Smith waits until other teachers leave before kicking the girl in the back.
- The student told her mother about the incident after school. The girl’s mother confronted Smith, who called the little girl a liar and said that if she had any injuries, they must be self-inflicted. However, the mother alerted school officials, who reviewed the surveillance footage and immediately placed Smith on leave before terminating her employment at the end of the investigation.
- The mother is now suing the Shawnee Mission School District and Smith. The mother claims that no one noticed or informed her of the incident and that had her daughter not told her, it would have gone unnoticed and Smith may have gone on to abuse the girl or other students. The lawsuit claims that not only were the student’s civil rights violated but that the school district was negligent in hiring Smith and not keeping an eye on her behavior around students.
- Smith pleaded guilty to kicking the child in court. While she was originally sentenced to 30 days in prison, a judge agreed to commute the sentence to one year of probation only. However, she will no longer be employable as a teacher in her school district (or in any other, you have to hope).
